Polenta with Mushroom Sauce and Sauteed Spinach

Hello everyone.  Today is the first chance I've had since beginning my job earlier this year running a food truck to sit down and open my blog back up.  I admittedly haven't been doing as much cooking or baking outside of my two jobs in the past several months, simply because I haven't had a lot of time.  Hubbs is also working two jobs, so it's been ok - we've both been crazy busy.  I think it's safe to say that the summer season has come to an end in Traverse City - I am seeing a lot less tourists, and business has slowed down considerably.  But that's ok.  Everyone has been running nonstop since the season began, and it is a nice break.  I have a lot of things coming up to work on relating to the vegan cafe hubbs and I are going to open, so we will definitely be staying busy!  Hopefully I will have time here and there to do a few blog posts and put a couple recipes up.  Until then, enjoy this tasty recipe I made a few weeks ago with the over-abundance of organic spinach I had in our garden.  

Grilled Polenta with a Mushroom Sauce and Sauteed Spinach with Pinenuts

Seriously so delicious!

Polenta:
4 cups filtered water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup cornmeal
3 tablespoons earth balance

Place all ingredients in a medium sized pot and whisk together well.  Cook over medium heat till thickened, stirring frequently.  Pour into an oiled pan and refrigerate until set up (several hours).

Once the polenta has set up, slice it into pieces and either pan fry or grill (I used our panini grill).

Mushroom Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
 4 tablespoons white wine
3 tablespoons tamari
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups filtered water mixed with 3 tablespoons arrowroot

Place the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and mushrooms and saute till softened.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine - be sure to scrape up all the tasty little bits that have stuck to the pan.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook till well seasoned and thickened.

Sauteed Spinach:
1/2 cup pinenuts, toasted
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
8-10 cups baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons white wine

In a separate large saute pan, add the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook till fragrant, but not browned.  Add the baby spinach and white wine, allowing it to wilt.  Once the spinach begins to wilt, add the sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.  Right before serving add the pinenuts.


Enjoy!

Koko

Homemade Vegetable Stock

I have been making homemade vegetable stock for years.  Years and years actually.  I've gone through different systems of making the stock with varying degrees of success, but I've perfected the stock over my years of living in New York in all kinds of tiny kitchens and spaces.  The best method that I have come up with by far is freezing all of my vegetable scraps in a gallon Ziploc bag and placing it in the upright freezer on top of our refrigerator in our tiny kitchen.  Whenever the bag would get completely full, I would toss it all in a large pot and make stock.  Then I would use whatever stock I needed that day and freeze the rest of it in pint and quart deli containers.  Several food blogs that I follow have suggested freezing in glass jars, but I have never had success, even when waiting for the food/liquids to cool completely, then sitting in the refrigerator for a couple hours and cooling it even more before putting it in the freezer.  I have had too many jars break on me to want to try it again.  So I have been storing it in deli containers and it has been working very well.  It's also super convenient. 

 

 

 

Veg Stock ready to go in the fridge and freezer

 

 

There is nothing better than making homemade vegetable stock.  It is super easy, costs almost nothing and gives tons of flavor and extra nutrients to your soups, sauces, stews, etc.  I also love that you have complete control of what goes in, how you prepare it, and therefore the end result.  There are no unnecessary added ingredients.  And if you are organized about it, you can make different kinds of stock for different purposes.  Several kinds I have made before include:

 

 

 

1.  Roasted Onion Stock for French Onion Soup:  Keep the onion ends, papers and outer layer of skins separate.  If I remember, I throw the ends of garlic in there as well - frozen of course.  Once I have a good amount, I roast the contents of the bag with some peppercorns until golden and dark.  Then I will simmer that mixture until fragrant and use it to make my delicious, super tasty soup.  Yum!

 

2.  Mushroom Stock:  I save all of the stems of the mushrooms I cook with and place them separately in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.  Once it's full, I'll simmer the stems along with a couple dried shiitake mushrooms, black peppercorns, dried thyme (or be even thriftier by freezing the stems from fresh thyme in the same bag with the mushroom stems).  Use the stock to make a killer Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving, a crazy flavorful mushroom soup or a delicious sauce to go with tempeh, tofu or seitan.

 

3.  Roasted Vegetable Stock:  Instead of placing the frozen veggies directly into the pot and covering with water, roast for 30 minutes or so at 400 degrees, then simmer.  Add a handful of lentils, black peppercorns and bay leaves for extra deliciousness.  Then use this tasty stock for more strongly flavored soups or a seitan pot roast or something equally amazing!



 

 

 

 

Frozen veggies in the pot, getting ready for some filtered water



Suggested Veggies:

Onion ends and peels (get rid of the papery outer-skins: they will make the stock bitter)
Carrots peels and ends
Garlic ends
Celery ends and leaves
Mushroom stems
Parsley Stems
Fresh thyme stems
Tomato cores and ends






Veg Stock Working

Homemade Veggie Stock:

Yields: 1 Gallon Stock


1.  Take the contents of the gallon Ziploc bag and place it in a large pot. Cover with at least 1-1 1/2 gallons of filtered water. Add several black pepper corns, a couple bay leaves and dried thyme if you would like. 

2.  Bring the contents to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 45-60 minutes, or as desired.  The longer the stock simmers, the darker in color and stronger in flavor it will be. 

3.  Allow the veggies to sit in the cooking liquid for about 10-15 additional minutes, or until the stock is more manageable to handle (temperature-wise). 

4.  Strain the veggies out of the stock, pressing to release as much liquid as possible.  Discard the stock veggies - preferably in a compost pile. 

5.  Cool the stock, package and be sure to date clearly.   Don't fill the containers completely full or they may explode in the freezer  - the liquid expands as it freezes. 





Labeled and frozen!
I've been doing this for years!
(And don't worry this picture was taken years ago & the stock long since used up.)



Fresh veggie scraps getting ready to go in the freezer.

Now save those organic veggie scraps and make your own homemade stock!


Enjoy!


Koko

Green Dinner: Gluten Free Pesto Pasta, Garlic Broccoli & Simple Green Salad

Finally went shopping.  Yay fresh veggies!  Hubby was helping me bring in the groceries and hung out with me while I was putting everything away.  He had insisted we purchase some beer and went to put it in the freezer  to chill it down quickly.  Imagine his surprise when he couldn't fit even one bottle in the freezer.  Oops!  I am a huge proponent of not throwing things away, so when I make a big batch of soup of a big batch of some other kind of meal, I don't like to throw any of it away, so I put it in a deli container, label it and freeze it.  It makes for some really easy, quick meals down the road too.  So he asked me to try to use up a couple things so his cervezas could chill.  Out came the last couple packages of pesto I made with the basil from our garden last summer.  It turned out great, because then I knew exactly what I was making for dinner.  Yummy pesto pasta!  I have been craving broccoli for a while so I decided to make that and a super simple green salad.  It was a nice tasty meal, not too heavy, and Hubbs was happy about his nice, cold cervezas!

 

 

 

Tasty GF Pesto Pasta and Fresh Veggies!

 

 

 

 

Serves: 2, with a little extra for leftovers

 

 

8 oz. desired pasta - I used Trader Joe's GF Brown Rice Penne Pasta

 

Pesto:

 

Yields: 2 1/2 cups (use what you need and freeze the rest)

 

1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
3/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 oz. basil, rinsed and spun very well

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

 

Garlic Broccoli

1 bunch broccoli, separated into florets, stems peeled and diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

1.  Prepare the pesto sauce.   Toast the walnuts and allow to cool.  Place in the bowl of a food processor along with the following: olive oil, garlic, miso, sea salt and black pepper.  Blend until relatively smooth.  Add in the basil and blend until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.  Set aside until ready to use.

2.  Prepare the pasta.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain the pasta, but keep the water in the pot.

3.  Briefly blanch the broccoli until it is tender-crisp. 

4.  Saute the garlic in the olive oil until crispy.  Toss with the cooked broccoli.  Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.  Mix well. 

5.  Toss desired amount of pesto with the pasta.  Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.  Serve with the broccoli and a simple green salad.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Koko

 

Breaded Seitan Cutlets from the Vegan Diner Cookbook

I have this crazy thought that I will make most of the recipes out of the hundreds of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks I have.  I'll be honest, there are several recipes out of each cookbook that I would likely never make, simply because I do not like some of the ingredients, but lots of them look good and really make me want to make them.  That is the point of having a cookbook, right?

 

A couple years ago I purchased a cookbook called the Vegan Diner Cookbook.  All the pictures look great and I loved the theme.  Upon further investigation of the book, once it was delivered, I realized it had tons (and I mean tons!) of typos.  Really ridiculous ones too, like turn to this page for this sub-recipe, and the page it says is 000, as if they were going to go back and add it in once the book was completed, and just forgot.  Plus, I have been cooking for so many years that most of the time I am able to look at a recipe and realize if it will or will not work.  And there are quite a few in there that make no sense.  This really in-depth exploration of the book came after making several recipes, thinking that the recipe itself didn't make a lot of sense, then trying it and having it fail.  I cannot recommend this book for purchase, and after making several things from it that did not work, I put it on the shelf and haven't opened it in years.  But, like all meals that I cook, I took pictures of it (these are pics from Brooklyn) and felt I should post it.  So here are the breaded seitan cutlets from the book.  

Breaded Cutlets - baked and topped with melty vegan cheese

Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara and the Breaded Cutlet.

Koko

Eggplant and Soy Chicken with Brown Rice and Mixed Green Salad

The one thing I miss a lot about being away from NY, is the ease in finding vegan "meat" products.  There is a really great food coop here in Michigan that carries a ton of amazing, healthy, organic products, which I love, but I sometimes just really crave vegan chicken and other "fake" meats!  And they only carry veggie burgers, seitan, etc.  I remembered that there was this tiny, funky little health food store called Edson Farms that I literally had not been to for over ten years, and after finding out that it was still in business, I rushed over.  I remember that store carrying a ton of soy meat products.  After running over to the freezer section where those fake meats used to be, I was shocked to discover the same selection of veggie burgers and loaves that the coop carried.  There were only two packages of vegan "chicken strips" left in the freezer, which I immediately grabbed, for fear someone would take them, and rushed home. 

This just all goes to show how much I took for granted living in NY and the accessibility of really anything I wanted at any point.  Oh sure, I can and likely will order some fake meats online, but it was so much more fun and so much more interesting to be able to walk into a vegetarian supermarket and be able to purchase almost every item in there replicating all kinds of meats.  I was soooooo spoiled!  The whole reason I was wanting the soy chicken anyway was to make soy chicken and eggplant, a dish I used to get delivered to my apartment in Brooklyn all the time - pretty much every day I had off.  It was so delicious and I miss the ease and freedom of being able to pick up the phone and have something literally delivered right to my door.  So I found the soy chicken, had a couple Japanese eggplants in my fridge and made this dish.  It was out of control good!  Now I'll just have to have some soy chicken delivered and make this delicious dish again!  Yum!

Looks just like it did from Zen Vegetarian!

Omg, crazy good!

The whole delicious meal.  Just like in Brooklyn!

8 oz. soy chicken strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 small Japanese eggplants, halved and sliced on the diagonal
1/2 red onion, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1.  Place one tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sized saute pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the soy chicken strips and saute till browned and crispy.  Set aside.
2.  In the same pan over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the pan is hot, add the onion  and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until beginning to soften.
3.  Add the eggplant and saute, stirring frequently for several minutes.
4.  Place the lid on top of the pan and lower the heat slightly, allowing the eggplant to steam.
5.  After about 5 minutes of steaming, the eggplant should have softened.
6.  Add the mushroom soy sauce, filtered water, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until the water evaporates about halfway and the sauce has thickened.
7.  Season to taste.  Serve over brown rice.  Enjoy with a nice side salad.  That's it!


Enjoy!

Koko

Mustard Sage Seitan, Tostones, Marinated Beet & Simple Salads

At this point in the season, most everything is out of our garden.  The only things remaining are some kale, beets and onions.  Hubby and I took it upon ourselves to finish harvesting everything from the garden and start preparing it for storage.  We dug up the onions and allowed them to "dry" for a couple days in our garage.  The beets were dug up as well, trimmed and allowed to sit for a couple days.  The kale has been sorted and placed in a big bag in the fridge, until I have some time to clean it, dry it and freeze it.  My mom also has a couple trees that produced nuts this year - very exciting!  So we picked heart nuts for a couple hours in the cold; searched for hazelnuts on the branches and the ground - and found 8!  This is the first year that tree has produced and we are definitely going to enjoy those nuts! 

We were also afforded the amazing opportunity to go to our neighbors and pick apples from her trees for free.  Such a generous woman!  She and her husband are in their late 70's, in the beginning stages of failing health and are unable to pick the apples themselves - and really wouldn't use them anyway.  We picked a ton of them!  We plan to make lots of pies and crisps and freeze the rest of them.  Exciting!   After picking all of those amazing things from off and around our property, I was really craving eating those beautiful beets.  And they were crazy delicious!  Seriously  - they taste nothing at all like they taste in the store - even as fresh as I have been able to purchase them.  So sweet, earthy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  Yum!  We were also able to make it to the local Spanish food store and bought a couple plantains to fry up.  Delicious dinner!

Comfort food and healthy salads all in one!  Yum!

Mustard Sage Seitan:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons filtered water

1 tablespoon tamari

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage

3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed in fingers

2 tablespoons white wine

1/2 teaspoon agave

4 large pieces seitan, homemade or store-bought

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  

2.  Place all of the marinade ingredients into a medium mixing bowl: the mustard, olive oil, water, tamari, black pepper, garlic, sage, rosemary, white wine and agave.  Whisk together very well until combined.  The taste will be strong before baking, but it will tame down after baking.  

3.  Slice the seitan into large slices and place in the bowl with the marinade.  Gently toss the seitan in the dressing and carefully place into an 8x8" baking pan.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until most of the marinade has been absorbed into the seitan.  

4.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!

Koko



Fried Zucchini from the Garden

Since moving to Michigan, I have been having a blast with the garden.  There is always something coming out of it - even this late in the season.  About a month or so ago, there was some really cold weather that affected our zucchini and summer squash plants, our cucumbers and acorn squash plants.  They had produced for a couple weeks, then finished.  I was pretty disappointed in the harvest , and had been making all kinds of great plans for the harvest.  Then last week as I was making my rounds throughout the garden, I noticed that the plants were reflowering and teeny tiny baby squash were emerging from the flowers!  I was so surprised and happy!  We also have okra plants that my Hubby has been convinced were planted too late and will amount to nothing.  I have told him to be positive and that they will produce, even though I know nothing of the plants and despite the fact that his father used to grow them for income back in the Dominican Republic.  And imagine my surprise and happiness in noticing that those same okra plants that had flowered and done nothing about a month ago, have again flowered and teeny tiny okra are beginning to grow!  I really hope they continue to grow and produce, even if we only get a handful.  Our Japanese eggplants are re-growing again and are only a couple inches long right now, so I'm really hoping for some more nice, sunny weather.  Until then, I decided to make some fried zucchini to celebrate the new crop of squash and will hopefully be posting more about the delicious veggies from the garden.


Fried Zucchini:

Crispy, Salty Goodness!

Serves 2-3

1 large or 2 small zucchini, washed well and sliced into 1/4" circles

Wet Mix:
1/3 cup unbleached flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 generous pinches cayenne pepper, optional

Dry Mix:
1 cup unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 generous pinches cayenne pepper


1.  Place the sliced zucchini on a small plate and set aside until ready to use.
2.  Place the wet mix ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together until a batter forms.  Set that next to the zucchini. 
3.  In a second small bowl, add your dry mix ingredients and whisk together until all the ingredients are well combined. 
4.  Place a large saute pan over medium heat and place about 1/4" canola or other no-taste oil inside the pan.  Allow the oil to heat as you begin to prepare the zucchini. 
5.  Get two large clean plates ready.  Cover one plate with multiple layers of paper towels and set aside.  The second plate will be the place you put your dipped zucchini slices on. 
6.  Take a few of your zucchini slices and dip them in the wet mix.  Keep one hand for the wet mix and the other for the dry mix.  Using the wet hand, swish the zucchini around until they are well coated.  Now drain off any excess liquid and place them one at a time into the spiced flour mix.  Using your dry hand, toss them around until they are completely covered with the flour.  Shake off any excess flour.  Place the finished zucchini slices on the clean plate.  Continue to do this until the oil is hot. 
7.  Place the coated zucchini slices into the oil and allow them to fry for several minutes on each side, until they are golden and crispy.  Once they are cooked on both sides, transfer them to the plate with the paper towel and immediately sprinkle them with a little bit of the sea salt.  Continue dipping the zucchini and frying them until all have been fried.
8.  Try to wait at least a minute for them to cool before popping them in your mouth - I know it's almost impossible, but it really burns when the water inside the cooked zucchini squirts your tongue!  So yummy, crunchy and delicious! 


Enjoy!

Koko

Marinara with Fresh Tomatoes

We have sooo many tomatoes coming out of the garden right now that it's kind of ridiculous.  I've been canning tons of them - about 20 quarts so far.  I've also made about 6 quarts of homemade marinara sauce from those tomatoes and froze it, rather than canning it, although now that I think about it, I could probably make the marinara sauce and can it too.  We do have tons of onions in the garden and garlic that should be ready to harvest by the end of the month.  This is a basic marinara that can certainly be altered depending upon your preference, but I like to make it this way so that I can adjust the flavors to whatever I am making it with.  Back when I was living in Brooklyn and was given tons of ripe organic tomatoes from the place I was working, I made a salsa and canned it.  It wasn't great, but it was pretty good as a first attempt, so that may be what I'll make next.  I've also dehydrated tons of roma and cherry tomatoes for "sundried tomatoes" that I plan on reconstituting in olive oil in the winter.  Yum!  Any other tomato ideas would be appreciated!



Marinara with Fresh Tomatoes:




Fresh Tomato Marinara! So Tasty!

Fresh Tomato Marinara:
1 medium onion, small diced, about 1 1/4 cup
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes = 5 1/2 cups pureed sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
11/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme


1.  Prepare the tomatoes: wash, cut in half and remove the stem.  Chop the tomatoes into manageable pieces and  place them into the blender jar.  Blend until completely liquefied.  Set aside until ready to use.
2.  In a medium pot over medium heat, add the olive oil.  Allow it to become hot, then add the onions and garlic.  Saute for a couple minutes, or until fragrant. 
2.  Once the onions and garlic have cooked, carefully add the raw tomato puree.  Stir to combine with the veggies.  Lower the heat, add the herbs and stir again.  Allow to simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are cooked all the way through and the sauce is flavorful and thick. 
3.  Use as desired over pasta, or wherever else you would use marinara.



Enjoy!

Koko

Homemade Green Juice

It's funny that a couple days before Hubbs and I moved away from NY, both our juicer and blender broke.  Problems with the motors on both.  The juicer motor had been on its way out for months admittedly, but the blender came as a surprise to me.  After spending a ton of money on the move and relocating, we would have absolutely loved to continue juicing or blending green smoothies as soon as we arrived in Michigan, but we had neither tools, and couldn't really afford to purchase both items.  So we didn't drink either for weeks.  We had a family reunion soon after arriving and one of my aunts discovered that my grandmother (the one that passed away in February) had one at home and was willing to donate it for Hubbs and I to use.  A very kind gift!  As soon as we brought it home and washed it down, we made a giant, never-ending green juice and chugged huge glasses of it.  It sure hit the spot!  The recipe below makes quite a bit - about 2 quarts, so you can definitely halve it, but it was damn refreshing, something the whole family was able to enjoy!


Homemade Green Juice:

 

So vibrant and delicious!

Yields: about 2 quarts

2 cucumbers, quartered
4 stalks celery
4 apples, quartered
2" piece ginger, washed well, unpeeled
1 lemon or lime, washed well, unpeeled
1 bunch kale
1/2-2/3 bunch spinach
1/2 bunch dandelion greens or chard

1.  Push each of the fruits and vegetables through the juicer, using a juicy item, followed by a leafy vegetable, then another juicy fruit/vegetable so as not to overwhelm the motor.
2.  Once everything has been juiced, stir it well in a large container until well combined.  Adjust vegetables or fruit to your taste preference.  (We make enough to have a couple jars extra that we drink in the morning before work.)


Enjoy!

Koko

First Vegan Meal with the Family in Michigan

My Aunt Nancy came over for lunch a couple weeks ago and brought a vegan lasagna with her.  Even for her, super health oriented, this is the first vegan lasagna she ever made.  Which is funny, because way back when, she was the first person to introduce me to tofu, and most likely, inadvertently started my journey into eating plant-based foods.  Love that woman!  We also had several things ready from the garden and decided to use those to our advantage, so I made pesto with basil from the garden as well as the veggies in the mixed green salad from the garden.  My Aunt expressed an interest in being shown how kale is made as a side dish, so I waited until she got to our house to show her how I make it.  Since showing her, she has already made it at her house!  She loved the meal, as did my mom, which I must honestly say I was shocked about.  Before I left for NYC, my mom was notoriously unwilling to try new things.  But since I have moved back, she has tried many new things and said that I am a pretty great cook now.  Hubby ate and so did one of my nieces, who also enjoyed the lasagna, but wasn't a fan of really anything else.  At least she tried everything!  Can't wait to have more opportunities to share these meals with my family!





Vegetable Lasagna, Fried Eggplant from the garden, Garlic Sesame Kale,
Pesto Pasta with basil from the garden, mixed green salad with
cucumbers from the garden.




Enjoy!

Koko

Creamy Pasta Salad with Veggies from the Garden

We have been having a ridiculous amount of veggies coming out of the garden lately.  And because my mom spent so much time putting the garden together (all because of Hubbs and I - she hasn't had a garden since I've been away from home), it makes sense that I am the person picking the produce from the garden and trying to come up with creative ways to use up all of the ingredients.  The idea of throwing anything away because I have not been able to come up with something to use it for or didn't get to it in time is kind of nauseating.  So with the cherry tomatoes and bell peppers from the garden, as well as kalamata olives, carrots and local celery and scallions that I picked up from my local coop, I made this tasty pasta salad.  My mom is a huge fan of pasta salad, albeit the one with just celery and mayo, and surprisingly thoroughly enjoyed this one.  She loves tomatoes - she will eat the roma tomatoes from the garden like apples, so she loved the cherry tomato addition.  She was surprised at the flavor of the olives - I think she's only ever had those gross canned black olives.  And she is already a fan of edamame (thanks Aunt Nancy!), although she had no idea what they were called.  So try this pasta salad, or use it as a base and add in your own favorites/preferences.  It is delicious and I have actually already made it again, this time with lots of fresh cracked black pepper.  Crazy good!


Creamy Pasta Salad with Veggies from the Garden:

Creamy, delicious pasta with fresh veggies.  Yum!

Creamy Pasta Salad:

Serves: about 6

1-16 oz. package pasta (I used elbows)
2/3 -1 cup vegan mayo
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives
2/3 cup shelled edamame, blanched
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cook the pasta in salted, oiled boiling water until just tender.  Drain and rinse under cold running water.
2.  In a small pot with boiling water, cook the edamame until just tender.  (Be sure to check your package to see if the edamame is already cooked or needs to be simmered first.)  Drain the edamame and run under cold water.
3.  Toss the pasta, edamame and remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until completely combined.  Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.



Tomatoes and green bell pepper from the garden.



Enjoy!

Koko

I've Officially Moved to Michigan!

Hello everyone!  After quite a while away, I'm back!  I survived the huge, long move to Michigan and am trying to get settled into life here, although it has admittedly been more difficult than I was expecting.  We have officially been back for about three weeks and these past few weeks have definitely been full - no time left to sit around.  My mom took off several days from work and was running us around like maniacs.  Have I mentioned that we now have to purchase and drive vehicles to get to where we want to go to on a daily basis?  No mass transit?  This is the strangest feeling and such a transition!

I feel like I should be working right now, not sitting in my parents' quiet, massive house on the computer.  It is beautiful out right now and so damn quiet!  I should go do some laundry to hang on the clothes line out back or go explore the garden some more. See if there are any veggies ready to be picked.  Hmmm.  Or maybe I'll just sit out in the sun for a little bit.  I've already got more color in these past few weeks than I have in the last 6 years living in NYC!  I've got to try to chill out and enjoy the peace while it lasts!

And after taking my own advice and going through the garden, I discovered these:



After moving from NY, this is the biggest blessing I have
experienced in a long time - picking my own food and eating it.



And I made a delicious tofu scramble for breakfast, which I did not take a picture of, because Hubby started inhaling it before it was even set completely in front of him!  Love this fresh food and beautiful weather!

Until next time,

Koko